The African Studies Center (ASC) was thrilled to continue to partner this year with the Moroccan- American Commission for Educational & Cultural Exchange (MACECE) in leading cohorts of teachers on learning and exchange trips to Morocco, funded by Fulbright-Hays.

The Fulbright-Hays Program — a Fulbright Program funded by the United States Department of Education– awards grants to individual U.S. K-14 pre-teachers, teachers and administrators, pre-doctoral students and postdoctoral faculty, as well as to U.S. institutions and organizations. Funding supports research and training efforts overseas.

In 2022, The MACECE invited the ASC K-16 Education Outreach Program to support the pre-departure orientation for 16 nationally-selected teachers to Morocco. From June 11th, 2022 to July 9th, 2022, 16 teachers traveled on a Fulbright-Hays Grant led by MACECE. Boston University’s African Studies Center was the partner in this project and led the Pre-Departure Orientation to the trip as well as the development of Curriculum Projects that are made available to all.

Building on the success of the 2022 experience, which provided an excellent overview of multiple educational institutions throughout Morocco, the 2024 Fulbright-Hays Complementary Experience had the goal of supporting teachers’ in-depth engagement in one institution.

The program was able to send three additional groups of teachers to three locations in Morocco in 2024. Teachers Brian Ash and Mary Fahey Fields traveled to Meknes in April; Alecia Pasdera, Breana Uzzell, and Elizabeth Peters traveled to Tangier in May; and Holly Liebl, Ann-Katherine Kimble, and Danielle Harms traveled to Agadir in October. The groups respectively visited one high school in each location and were expertly led by Fulbright alumni and teacher leaders: Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching alumni Elhassan El Hilali & Aida Boumaaza and Fulbright International Leaders in Education alumnus Rachid El Machehouri. The three participating schools were School Moulay Ismail in Meknès, Lycée Moulay Al Hassan in Tangier, and Lycée Yousef Bin Tachfine in Agadir. School leaders as well as all three Moroccan Fulbright teachers were outstanding hosts, generously supporting this experience with their time, effort, and expertise. During their stay, U.S. teachers observed classes, attended student presentations, co-taught alongside Moroccan educators, and engaged in cultural visits. MACECE Program Officer Ahlam Daoudi, who is always cited by teachers as the heart of the programs, led the coordination of the placements and travel, and Dr. Elsa Wiehe led the teachers’ preparation and traveled with the groups to Tangier and Agadir.

Teachers noted that their new experiences helped increase intercultural learning, provided opportunities for students to student exchange across the Atlantic, and promoted further engagement in global studies in their schools and institutions- both in the US and Morocco. Highlights included a trip to the magnificent archeological city of Volubilis; the magical city of Chefchaouen; a visit to the Tangier American Legation Institute for Moroccan Studies (TALIM), which brought artists, curators, theater directors and other community-based cultural workers in dialogue with teachers; and a visit to the solemn Agadir Kasbah.